Left the car at a large pullout just short of the smaller pullout at the almost-invisible Clear Lost trailhead, which already had two cars Thursday at 9am.
Headed down the trail after filling out a permit at the kiosk. Had to get my feet wet to cross the Clear Fork, which was calm, but up to 2 feet deep.
Picked up the trail on the other side, and headed up past Lost Hat Lake (just a muddy puddle now) to the Lost Lake Lookout (or what's left of it). Good blueberries in the large meadow below the ridge; the ones lower down were gone. Some muddy, eroded spots on the way up to Lost Hat Lake.
Continued down to Lost Lake (careful footing was required in a few exposed spots near the top), and followed the Coyote Trail to Elk Pass, where I looked for a campsite along the ridge; the wind convinced me to set up camp in the basin below instead.
Next day, I continued on the Pacific Crest Trail to Tieton Pass, and headed out via the Clear Fork Trail. This trail had some brush (rain pants were useful), a few awkward blowdowns (especially along a hard-to-follow 0.25 mile section through a burn from last year), and several stream crossings, all of which were possible with dry feet, with some care.
Encountered one hiker at the lookout site, several parties on the Pacific Crest Trail, and two hunters at a camp.
Comments
Oh wow. I had no idea Lost Hat Lake got this low! I camped it in Nov and it looked at the same level as it was during the summer--so seeing it so low is a bit shocking. I've caught a few nice-sized trout there, too!
Posted by:
--X-- on Sep 23, 2019 08:36 AM